Texans QB Schaub says he might play on Monday

Published 6:30 am, Friday, November 28, 2008

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub has started his lobbying effort to return to the field, and coach Gary Kubiak is watching and listening. After missing just three starts with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee, Schaub took a share of the repetitions in practice this week. He has made such progress in the past week that Kubiak is leaving open the possibility that Schaub could play against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night. “They aren’t having me do any more (in practice) than I feel I can go out there and do right now,” Schaub, 27, said. “I feel like I can do a whole lot more, too. It’s really feeling good. “I guess I’m kind of surprising myself at how well I’ve come along, given the time. “I feel like I’m getting to the point where I can go out there and play. We just have to see how it goes in the next couple of days. I feel like I can go out there and do my job.” Originally, the Texans said Schaub would miss two to four weeks. Kubiak pointed out Thursday that this is the fourth week and Schaub is “on schedule.” “I think there’s a chance (he will play Monday), but I think we’ve got to be smart and know that he can go out there and do all of the things he can do on a normal basis,” Kubiak said. The Texans are 1-3 with backup Sage Rosenfels starting this season. Their lone victory came last week against the Cleveland Browns. With Schaub rejoining practice this week, it has provided a spark to the NFL’s fourth-ranked offense. “He told me when he got injured that he’d be back out practicing the week of this game — the Monday night game — and I told him he was crazy,” said receiver Andre Johnson, who missed seven starts last year with two sprained ligaments in his knee. “But he must have had some miracle rub or something happen. “To be honest, to see him out there he doesn’t even look like he’s had an injury. He’s moving around real well. He looks good. “He’s our quarterback. To see him come out there and practice with us, of course that’s a boost. You’re happy to see him out there, and you just can’t wait to get a chance to play with him again.” Schaub said he has experienced tightness in his knee but little pain. He is wearing a brace to keep his knee stabilized, and he must wear it for the remainder of the season. “It doesn’t hinder me,” Schaub said of the brace. “I guess if I was a scrambling, running quarterback, it might affect me a little bit, but that’s not who I am.” Ideally, Schaub would be cleared to play against the Jaguars, a team he had success against this season. He passed for 307 yards and three touchdowns in the Texans’ overtime loss at Jacksonville on Sept. 28. The Texans must decide how capable Schaub is of bouncing back from being hit, though. Schaub understands that might be one key issue holding the coaches back from letting him loose on the field. “I feel like it’s pretty strong and pretty sturdy,” Schaub said of the knee. “I have it braced up. It’s pretty snug in that thing and not really going to go anywhere, so we’ll have to see. “Coach isn’t going to let someone go through in practice and say, ‘Let’s test it out.’ I told him we can go ahead and do that, though, if that’s what it takes to show them I’m ready.” megan.manfull@chron.com